Our Costly Commutes

The Oct. 12 front-page article "Around D.C., a Cheaper House May Cost You" mentioned only one cost of living far from work: the nearly $8,000 in gas and other vehicle expenses associated with driving an extra 15,000 miles a year.

An unmentioned second cost is in time. The article described many 90-minute commutes, and I know from experience that a commute of under 30 minutes is not difficult to achieve when living reasonably close to the District. Therefore, long commutes can add two hours of driving a day, or 500 hours a year, which is equal to $12,500 in uncompensated time annually for a person who earns $25 an hour.

A third and nearly incalculable expense is the cost of added congestion, pollution and global-warming gases, which is borne by the community and the planet.

It's in everyone's interest to have affordable communities that require less driving.

RICHARD REIS

Silver Spring

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The contrast between two of your Oct. 12 front-page articles, "Around D.C., a Cheaper House May Cost You" and "Living Large as Zoo Unveils Asia Trail," was striking.

At a time when many of the region's residents struggle with long commutes and the high cost of housing, I winced when I read that the pandas and sloth bears at the National Zoo were able to get $45.3 million in federal funding for their new digs.

While the bears "live large" at the zoo (yes, living where they work), the rest of us are forced to pursue affordable, but not always economical, housing options farther and farther from our jobs.

I don't mean to begrudge the zoo or belittle the economic and cultural benefits it provides to our area. But I hope we can get our priorities straight and increase funding and support, at every level of government, for the affordable housing near our jobs that workers in this region so desperately need.

JILL C. NORCROSS

Executive Director

Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers

Reston